The Side Hustle Show

719: $1,000 per Postcard: The Every Door Direct Mail Side Hustle

January 22, 2026

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  • The Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) side hustle involves stacking multiple local advertisers onto an oversized postcard to share costs, making local advertising affordable for small businesses. 
  • Success in this model relies on setting clear expectations with advertisers that this is an indirect advertising/brand exposure play requiring multiple touches, leading to high retention rates (60-70% reported). 
  • Outreach is most effective when non-invasive (like Facebook Messenger or email) and transparently including the low price point ($150 per spot) to qualify leads and pique curiosity. 

Segments

Initial EDDM Model Evolution
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(00:00:01)
  • Key Takeaway: The initial 10,000-home mailing model proved too expensive ($600 per business), necessitating a pivot to smaller, more targeted mailings of about 2,500 homes to ensure affordability and repeat business.
  • Summary: The initial strategy involved mailing to 10,000 homes at a cost around $600 per participating business, which was deemed unaffordable for repeat mailings. Guests scaled down the mailing size to target specific neighborhoods of about 2,500 homes, drastically lowering the cost for advertisers and enabling monthly repetition.
Competitive Differentiation from Valpak
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(00:02:43)
  • Key Takeaway: The shared postcard model differentiates itself from competitors like Valpak by limiting the postcard to 16 businesses and strictly enforcing category exclusivity, which is a major selling point.
  • Summary: Unlike Valpak, which can feature up to 75 businesses and allow competitors in the same mailing, this EDDM postcard limits spots to 16 and guarantees category exclusivity. This exclusivity prevents businesses from being placed back-to-back with direct competitors, addressing a common pain point in shared mailers.
Selling Indirect Advertising Value
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(00:04:15)
  • Key Takeaway: When pitching, frame the postcard as low-cost brand exposure (like a billboard) rather than immediate direct response, making the low ticket price ($150) more receptive to small business owners.
  • Summary: The postcard functions as indirect advertising, aiming for brand exposure rather than immediate ROI, which is crucial when asking for a few hundred dollars. Highlighting the low cost per impression (around six cents per home) helps business owners accept that the goal is top-of-mind awareness, similar to a local real estate agent’s strategy.
Sales Tactics and Target Businesses
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(00:05:51)
  • Key Takeaway: Effective prospecting targets businesses already investing in mail (like Valpak recipients) and uses non-invasive outreach like Facebook Messenger, explicitly stating the low price point ($150) upfront to increase response rates.
  • Summary: Effective prospecting starts with identifying businesses already using Valpak or local ad magazines, as they understand direct mail investment. Outreach is best done via Facebook Messenger or email to avoid interrupting busy owners, and including the $150 price point upfront increases response rates by qualifying prospects immediately.
Ideal Advertiser Profiles
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(00:10:53)
  • Key Takeaway: Businesses with high lifetime customer value (like dentists) or those needing high-frequency brand presence (like home services, HVAC, roofers) are the most consistent and receptive advertisers.
  • Summary: Consistent advertisers include dentists (high lifetime value) and home services like HVAC and roofing, which benefit from being top-of-mind for infrequent, high-ticket needs. Including a restaurant or coffee shop makes the card ‘sticky,’ encouraging recipients to keep it longer due to a usable coupon.
Fulfillment and Cost Structure
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(00:18:47)
  • Key Takeaway: Outsourcing fulfillment to a printer who handles EDDM bundling and shipping to the post office eliminates the logistical burden, allowing the operator to focus solely on sales and design.
  • Summary: For a mailing of approximately 2,500 homes costing around $700 (print/postage/fulfillment), selling 15 spots at $150 yields about $1,500 in margin before accounting for the fulfillment fee. Outsourcing the required bundling (in 100s) and shipping to the local post office costs an extra fee (around $175), which is worthwhile to avoid handling thousands of postcards.
Retention and Scaling Strategy
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(00:21:34)
  • Key Takeaway: Setting expectations for multiple touches leads to high advertiser retention (60-70%), allowing operators to shift from single mailings to selling pre-paid 3-to-6-month packages upfront.
  • Summary: The guests achieved a 60-70% retention rate by emphasizing that multiple touches are necessary for results, leading them to sell advertisers packages of three to six months paid in advance. This model allows for scaling geographically to new towns (even four hours away) without needing to be physically present for sales.
EDDM as a Lead Generator for Agency Services
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(00:25:04)
  • Key Takeaway: The low-cost postcard service acts as an effective ‘foot-in-the-door’ offer, building trust that leads to sales of higher-ticket agency services like reputation management and website builds.
  • Summary: The postcard service is used as a lead generation tool to introduce the agency’s higher-value services, as the low-cost, high-value nature builds immediate trust. This trust often sparks conversations about improving the business’s digital presence, such as addressing slow page speed or poor Google review response times.
Biggest Mistake and Next Opportunity
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(00:33:26)
  • Key Takeaway: The primary mistake was mismanaging advertiser expectations regarding response rates for indirect advertising, which was corrected by emphasizing the need for multiple mailings.
  • Summary: The biggest learning curve was generalizing direct response rates (1% success) to this indirect model, leading to initial disappointment from advertisers expecting immediate results. The next venture, the ‘Community Board,’ offers advertisers year-long exposure on a physical board in a venue (like a restaurant or gym) for a single annual commitment, reducing the frequency of sales needed.